It's unclear if James Blake, in the throes of a tough slide out of the top-20, has split with long-time friend, confidante and coach Brian Barker, but he's in Beijing for the $3.3 million tournament there and working with another long-time friend, Kelly Jones.

I don't have any immediate full information on the Blake coaching situation, but my best guess is that Barker, who has coached Blake since J.B. was 12 years old, is sitting this next week out with some personal issue. Blake and Barker are so close it's hard to imagine a mid-season split.

Jones, 45, of Tampa, was a highly accomplished doubles player who could be instrumental in improving Blake's transition game and volleying. Jones briefly reached doubles No. 1 in the world in early October of 1992, his greatest season in which he and Rick Leach were finalists at both the Australian and U.S. Opens.

Blake has not had a bad season, but he has had a disappointing season. He's 21-17 overall and, again, has not fulfilled his potential at Grand Slam events. He began the year at No. 10 and is now at No. 24.

Sensational
I hope it works out for James
I am now watching his match vs Rafa and he is playing some incredible tennis at some moments!

That's very surprising considering that James has always insisted on loyalty and being accustomed to a long-time mentor. Probably it is his will to make better-then-before results and do some damage. It is hard to believe that they had any argument. Another explanation can be that it was simply the decision of Barker who just wanted to concentrate on the family matters.

I can't believe it but it's official on the ATP website : Coached by former ATP pro Kelly Jones (since September 2009) after parting ways after US Open with long-time mentor Brian Barker (since age 12).

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I would be willing to bet that Brian resigned more than James fired him. Brian has missed a few trips in the last few years, I think there is a family/personal issue involved. Being on the road is tough on coaches too, especially the ones with young families.

According to an article on ESPN.com, the split was mutual and they are still friends. Barker encouraged him to make the change, and had even suggested splitting about a year ago but Blake was against it. They decided to split following the USO after Blake's R1 loss in Cincy. They will continue to work together when Blake is in Connecticut, and Blake seems to be leaving the door open to bring Barker back if things don't work out with other coaches.